The Associated Press

CHICAGO - Count Jack McKeon among all those people who counted out the Chicago Cubs when it came to the postseason.

Then again, the Florida manager hardly expected his team to make it, either.

No matter. Barry Bonds is gone and so is Chipper Jones. Albert Pujols, Jim Thome and Jeff Bagwell never even got a chance to play.

October is here, and so are the Marlins and Cubs in the NL championship series starting tonight at Wrigley Field.

"I think it's good for baseball. I think it's good for the country," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said Monday.

But back to McKeon.

A few days after the All-Star break, when the Marlins and Cubs were both struggling, Kerry Wood pitched a two-hitter and beat Florida 1-0 at Pro Player Stadium.

"That's the reason he's an All-Star," McKeon said at the time. "Thank God we don't have to see him anymore."

The 72-year-old manager was then asked about the possibility - albeit a remote one at the time - that Florida might meet Sammy Sosa and the Cubs in the postseason.

"I don't think the Cubs will be in the playoffs," he said, brushing aside the notion.

So Trader Jack, any second thoughts on it now?

"I don't remember saying it," McKeon said Monday. "If I did, it was a mistake."

Too late for the Cubs' taste.

"Oh yeah. That's well-documented here," Cubs batting coach Gary Matthews said during an afternoon workout. "Surprise, surprise."

Truth is, few really expected the sign outside Wrigley to be lit up with "Cubs Win!" at this time of year.

In fact, the Cubs were below .500 until Wood's gem at Florida on July 19. The Marlins, meanwhile, stumbled to a 19-29 start that put them far back of the pack.

"We thought in spring training we had a chance to be here," pitcher Josh Beckett said. "Our team is not surprised by how we've done.

"We underachieved the first few months, that's how we became a surprise team," he said.

Beckett will start the opener against the excitable Carlos Zambrano. Beckett is aware the Cubs have tremendous national appeal, with baseball romantics across the country watching to see whether the team can win its first World Series championship since 1908.

The wild-card Marlins started playing in the majors in 1993 and already have won one title. Still, Beckett thinks his club makes for an equally feel-good story.

"Well, we changed managers in the middle of the year. We've overcome some injuries and stuff like that," he said.

And about the surprising NLCS matchup?

"I would have probably told them they are crazy," McKeon said of playoff pairings talk in May. "You figured a lot of us wouldn't be here. I think a lot of clubs didn't think the Cubs would be here, a lot of people didn't think we would be here."

NLCS schedule

Game 1: Today, at Chicago (8:20 p.m., FOX);

Game 2: Wednesday, at Chicago (8:20 p.m., FOX);

Game 3: Friday, at Florida (8:20 p.m., FOX);

Game 4: Saturday, at Florida (7:50 p.m., FOX);

x-Game 5: Sunday, at Florida (4:20 p.m., FOX), if necessary

x-Game 6: Oct. 14, at Chicago (8:20 p.m., FOX), if necessary

x-Game 7: Oct. 15, at Chicago (8:20 p.m., FOX), if necessary

Projected Lineups

Marlins

(regular season statistics)

Pos. Player	Avg./HR/RBI/Other
CF Juan Pierre	.305, 1 HR, 41 RBI, 65 steals, 204 hits
2B Luis Castillo	.314, 6, 39, 21 steals
C Ivan Rodriguez	.297, 16, 85
1B Derrek Lee	.271, 31, 92, 131 K's
3B Miguel Cabrera	.268, 12, 62
RF Juan Encarnacion	.270, 19, 94, 19 S
LF Jeff Conine	.282, 20, 95 for Baltimore and Florida
SS Alex Gonzalez	.256, 6, 18

Cubs

Pos. Player	Avg./HR/RBI/Other
CF Kenny Lofton	.296, 12 HRs, 46 RBI, 30 steals
2B Mark Grudzielanek	.314, 3, 38
RF Sammy Sosa	.279, 40, 103, 143 Ks
LF Moises Alou	.280, 22, 91
3B Aramis Ramirez	.272, 27, 106
1B Randall Simon	.275, 16, 72
SS Alex Gonzalez	.228, 20, 59, 123 Ks
C Damian Miller	.233, 9, 36

Projected Rotations

Marlins

Pitcher	W-L/ERA/Other
RH Josh Beckett	9-8, 3.04 ERA, 152 Ks in 142 innings
RH Brad Penny	14-10, 4.13
LH Mark Redman	14-9, 3.59
LH Dontrelle Willis	14-6, 3.30

Cubs

Pitcher	W-L/ERA/Other
RH Carlos Zambrano	13-11, 3.11
RH Mark Prior	18-6, 2.43, 245 Ks
RH Kerry Wood	14-11, 3.20, 266 Ks
RH Matt Clement	14-12, 4.11

Relievers

Marlins

Pitcher	W-L/ERA/Other
RH Ugueth Urbina	3-4, 2.81, 32 saves
RH Braden Looper	6-4, 3.68, 28 saves
RH Chad Fox	3-3, 3.12, 3 saves
RH Carl Pavano	12-13, 4.30
LH Michael Tejera	3-4, 4.67, 2
RH Rick Helling	8-8, 5.17

Cubs

Pitcher	W-L/ERA/Other
RH Joe Borowski	2-2, 2.63, 33 saves
RH Antonio Alfonseca	3-1, 5.83
RH Kyle Farnsworth	3-2, 3.30, 92 Ks
LH Mike Remlinger	6-5, 3.65
LH Mark Guthrie	2-3, 2.74
RH Dave Veres	2-1, 4.68, 1 save
RH Juan Cruz	2-7, 6.05

Matchups

• Wood and Sosa enjoyed big years against the Marlins. Wood made two starts, and they were impressive - he pitched a two-hitter and a three-hitter. Wood allowed only one run in the two complete games and struck out 20. Sosa batted .320 and homered three times in the six games, including a 484-foot shot in a 16-2 romp at Pro Player Stadium on July 20, the last time the teams met.

• Rodriguez hit three home runs and batted .391 against Chicago.

• The Cubs were struggling this season when they went into Pro Player Stadium right after the All-Star break. A 6-0 loss to Redman dropped them to 47-48 - Chicago rebounded to win the next two games.

• No, that's not a misprint - the starting shortstop for both teams is named Alex Gonzalez.

• As they do most everywhere, the Cubs have drawn a lot of fans for their games at Florida.

Big Picture

Marlins: The wild-card winners surprised San Francisco in the first round, bouncing back from a loss in the opener to win three straight. Florida still has not lost a postseason series, going 4-0. As the wild card in 1997, they won the World Series.

Cubs: Wood's 5-1 win in Sunday's decisive Game 5 at Atlanta set off a big celebration in Chicago. Wood and Prior were dominant in the first round, recording all the Cubs' victories. Wood went 2-0, striking out 18 in 15 1-3 innings. Prior pitched a two-hitter at home and fanned seven.

Keys to watch for

•  Dominating duo. No slight to Zambrano and Clement, both effective pitchers, but the Cubs' fortunes rest with Wood and Prior. Remember how overpowering Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson were in the 2001 postseason? Wood and Prior could do the same thing. Too bad for the Cubs, they needed Wood in the clincher against Atlanta and won't have him for the first two games at Wrigley. But he could go in Games 3 and 7, Prior in 2 and 6.

• Lowell's status. Mike Lowell, the Marlins' All-Star third baseman, missed almost all of the final four weeks because of a broken left hand. He did not start the playoff opener and went 0-for-3 overall.

• Home boys. The Marlins would love to split the first two games at Wrigley because they've been real tough at home. After trailing Philadelphia in the wild-card standings Sept. 19, the Marlins won five in a row in Florida to clinch the playoff berth, which made it 16 wins in their past 18 home games. Then, they beat the Giants twice at Pro Player to win the first-round series.

Season Series

• Chicago won 4-2.